I won’t pretend to be an expert at everything but I do think I am *somewhat* of an authority on how to balance working out daily and not washing your hair everyday because I’ve had plenty of experience finding what works. As in, years and years of practice/trial and error. I also realize that some people may workout most days of the week but maybe naturally just don’t sweat as much…but for me, 99% of the time, my workouts are going to make me sweat…a lot. So how do you sweat a lot and not totally ruin your hair?
Of course there’s a threshold (like don’t expect to go to a hot yoga class and be able to salvage your hair) but I think for the most part it’s do-able. Here are my tips for how to balance working out daily and not washing your hair everyday. With this routine you should be able to go at least every other day without washing and can even start stretching longer as your hair gets used to it.
Tips for How To Balance Working Out Daily + Not Washing Your Hair Everyday
The Basic Rules of Thumb
-Schedule your hair washing around your workouts. Having a scheduled routine helps you best identify what days are going to be good hair washing days for you. Ideally you want to be washing your hair after a very sweaty workout and then schedule workouts that might not get your hair as sweaty on days when you don’t wash your hair. Makes sense, right? So for me, I usually alternate cardio (running) days with strength training circuit days and I wash my hair after runs, because generally those get my hair the sweatiest.
-Have a good dry shampoo(s). I really like this one and use it for nighttime dry shampoo application. I love it because it also has biotin, is really good for your scalp, and smells fresh. After workouts I like this one because I think it really helps suck the sweat out when you pair with a blow dry and also serves kind of like a texturizer spray. Def helps with the volume which can often be a problem after wearing your hair in a pony.
-Apply dry shampoo at night. This helps maintain the life of your wash…Add some around your temple area and crown of your head (or wherever your hair gets greasiest) to help absorb oils overnight. Even if I wash my hair at night, I will add a little to my clean hair.
-Blow dry the sweat out. So yes, after a workout you want to blow dry the sweat out as soon as you can (the more the sweat air dries the harder it will be to salvage IMO) and use the dry shampoo. I like to blow dry it first and then when it’s no longer soaking wet, then put on the dry shampoo. Don’t put the dry shampoo onto wet hair…it just doesn’t work as well. Then I’ll round brush + blow dry a bit more for volume and to smooth it out. Then you can style as you like but I will generally throw in some curls/waves.
-A cute updo on the last day. When you can no longer wear your hair down but you aren’t ready to wash, throwing some texturizing spray in it and pulling it back into a messy-chic bun is the way to go. By the last day your hair should have plenty of product built up in it that it’s super easy to pull back and it will have a lot of volume. *TIP* I don’t like to flip my head over to pull my hair back on these days, I think it cancels out the volume you get, flattens out your hair, and shows more grease. Instead, I just lean back a little bit and gather my hair on top of my head, leaving a little bit of a side part in the front. Don’t pull it super tight. You want it to be more loose and “undone” looking. Then twist up into a bun however you like (I always end up needing a bobby pin or two!) but this helps the front continue to look more polished, which is great for going to work etc. when you want it to still look nice. If you’re just hangin at home, of course throw it up however you like.
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Schedule for Every-Other-Day Washing
Here’s what my schedule looks like for every-other-day hair washing:
Sunday: Wash hair, blow dry, part down the middle. Add some dry shampoo before bed. Curl if desired.
Monday: Strength circuit workout, blow dry sweat out of hair with dry shampoo, style as desired. *TIP* Flip your hair into a side part from the original middle part for extra volume. This is usually a good time to throw in some curls/waves or touch up ones if you did them the day before. *TIP* Only use a round brush to brush out your sweat/blow dry. It helps not pull out any existing curls you may have already done.
Tuesday: Run & wash hair. Blow dry.
Wednesday: Strength circuit workout, blow dry sweat out of hair with dry shampoo, style as desired.
Thursday: Run & wash hair. Blow dry.
Friday: Strength circuit workout, blow dry sweat out of hair with dry shampoo, style as desired.
Saturday: Run & wash hair. I usually air dry on Saturdays! Time allows and to give my hair a heat break. Some days I skip the wash on Saturday and wait until Sunday.
This can vary depending on the week but that’s a general outline.
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Other Tips:
*TIP* Blow drying helps extend a wash (at least for me, my hair gets greasy faster if I air dry) but that can be a lot of heat, so if I don’t *need* to blow dry or if I’m not going anywhere where I need my hair to look good I try to air dry when I can. Just keep that in mind!
*TIP* Don’t workout with your hair in a messy bun. That makes it hella hard to look good after because it gets all crimpy. Do a ponytail or even a loose braid in a pony.
*TIP* I usually wear my hair in a high pony because I sweat a lot around the perimeter of my hairline and a lot on the sides of my head around my ears. This helps me not get the hair above that as sweaty because I pull it up away from that area if that makes sense. So depending on where you sweat, you can pull your hair into either a higher or lower pony to try to mitigate sweat going everywhere.
*TIP* When in doubt, there’s always a hat. 😉 For work appropriate looks, there are some super cute headbands you can try!
So that’s the basic outline of my schedule, but some times my hair is looking fine on day 2 and I can extend to day 3. That is when it’s a great time to do the messy-chic updo to extend another day. Sometimes I end up doing that on day 2 and that’s fine! I even used to do this when I had my corporate job and I would workout at lunch. I’d just take a travel hair dryer in my gym bag and do this same routine to restore my hair before heading back to the office. I personally have really thin hair so it’s pretty hard for me to go more than 3 days without a wash. If you have thicker hair you might be able to get by longer!
Hope this helps and let me know if you have questions!
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xo,
Bess
Which shampoo do you use when you wash your hair?
I have a few different kinds in my shower that I kinda rotate. I have the Briogeo shampoo & conditioner with biotin. Then I also sometimes use this shampoo & conditioner too. Just depends on my mood lol.
Just wanted to say thank you! I just graduated and am starting my first full time job and had no idea how to go about doing my hair on the days I work out, but don’t wash my hair. I wasn’t even sure if anything would come up when I googled it but this was super helpful!
Hey Shannen! So glad you found me and that you found this post helpful! If you’re on IG come follow me there 🙂 my username is @besshcarter I share lots of other tips on there too! xo, Bess
I needed this! Literally the only reason I haven’t been able to get off my butt and go to the gym cause I’m anxious about my hair on non-wash days. What would you say are the best methods when you prefer to wash your hair once a week? Is that just not possible if you’re working out regularly?
I personally have never gone a full week, I have thin hair so it gets more noticeably greasy faster. I can usually only do max 3 days between. The last day I’m usually doing a slicked back bun or ponytail to really lean into the grease look lol. But immediately blow drying sweat out of your hair + using dry shampoo would probably help the most. Try not to let the sweat air dry in your hair!
This was actually so helpful. I’m gonna create a similar routine that works for me and try it out. Thanks so much for sharing!